I confess. I adore putting jigsaw puzzles together. The big ones. The 1000-piece size. The entire process of putting them together delights me no end.

From the joy of selecting which puzzle I’ll buy, to the sound of the pieces rattling around as I rummage through the box, to the trial and error method I resort to when I’m assembling a huge section of all blue sky. I love it all. I even like pulling the whole puzzle apart when I’m finished, and returning the pieces to the box. It’s a Zen thing for me. And the practice itself helps my business. How?

When we apply “jigsaw puzzle wisdom” to growing and maintaining successful health & wellness businesses, we find a rich source of material. Borrow these 10 jigsaw-puzzle tips, adapt them (as suggested) to your business, and watch what unfolds!

1. Take your time selecting your puzzle — be sure the picture is one you want to embrace for a while. [i.e. Take time to choose your goals for the year]

3. Trust. When you start, and you look at all those loose pieces, you’ll be excited because you know with certainty that, as my favorite teachers, Esther (& Jerry & Abraham) of Abraham-Hicks are fond of saying, “you are in the perfect position to get ‘there’ from ‘here’”…and you’ll trust the process. [i.e. Use Abraham’s words as a mantra this year.]

4. Focus on one small task or area at a time…be that the border, sorting colors, or just putting the trees together. [i.e. small steps and habits done continuously will move you to your goals this year. Big leaps not required and often lead to set-backs.]

5. Enjoy the entire process of putting this together – all of it…even the part where you can’t find a piece. Yet. As soon as you shift your attention to what you want and away from what you don’t have, then let go, and the piece will be there. [Need I say more]

6. Stay present. Commit to enjoyment the whole time – from the sound of the pieces in the box as you rumble around and sift through them to picking out “just the edge pieces.” From finding “just the sky pieces” to placing each and every piece into the puzzle in its own time. [i.e. This is the only moment where your body lives...learn from that.]

7. Appreciation Perspective. Remind yourself that you do this not just for the end result, but for the fun of the game. [A journal of appreciation for the work you did today can be a great habit to foster this.]

8. Refresh. If it starts being anything but enjoyable, or you can’t keep a smile on your face – take a break, get up and move around or outside, do something else, shift your attention to another section of the puzzle, or just stop for a while. [Swear by this and you’ll be happier, more productive, and probably get more fresh air.]

9. Reconnect. Take a time out every so often and look at the finished picture on the box so you reconnect with where you are heading. [A reminder of #2. Are you reviewing your goals regularly? Your vision for the year?]

10. New puzzles, new dreams. Know that when you are “complete”, it won’t be long before you want to do a new puzzle…know that it is the process that delights you. [i.e. as you reach your goals, new dreams will form. Capture them as the year unfolds. We never “get it all done”, we just keep expanding!]

Through the course of 20 years, coaching thousands of clients, I find myself continually repeating and highlighting 7 simple yet powerful habits that help wellness coaches grow successful businesses. Habits that will make the puzzle of growing a business much more manageable.

Yes, times have changed dramatically these last 20 years. Yes, there are new avenues for marketing our businesses, yes there are social media avenues we now use, and yes there are also other brilliant options for leveraging technology. But these 7 simple habits for building a highly successful business remain the same.

These habits are not born of rocket science. Quite the opposite. And at first glance, you may discard them as too simple. But simple never meant easy and doing things the hard way never guarantees success.

The 7 simple habits are also the keys to putting together jigsaw puzzles of all things. Yup, jigsaw puzzles. Shuffling through a box of 1000 such pieces one rainy afternoon, it hit me — everything I know about the best way to grow a successful wellness coaching business, every habit that must be adopted, was mirrored in the lessons I’ve learned from this simple hobby. No wonder building both puzzles and businesses just fascinates me.

The Seven Simply Powerful Habits:

1. Keep your eye on the big picture you are creating, the entire time. In business, this means knowing your “why”, and your mission statement. Not sure of that lately? Take time to rewrite and reconnect!

2. Avoid overwhelm…get into inspired action. In the jigsaw puzzle realm, when you start, and you look at all those loose pieces, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The same is true in your business. So just remember during those times of overwhelm that, as my favorite teachers, Esther Hicks and Abraham of Abraham-Hicks are fond of saying, “you are in the perfect position to get ‘there’ from ‘here’”…trust the process, refocus on the “why”, pick up the single next piece and take inspired action.

3. Focus on one small task or area at a time…be that the border, sorting colors, or putting just the trees together in a puzzle or making a video, writing a post, or attending a networking meeting to grow your business. You can’t do it all at once, and the true gifts come as you…

4. Enjoy the process of putting this puzzle or business together – all of it…even the part where you can’t find a piece. Yet! As soon as you shift your attention to what you want and why and away from what you don’t have or can’t find, and then let go, the desired piece will be there. In fact, it’s best if you commit to enjoyment the whole time – from the sound of the pieces in the box as you shuffle them around to picking out “just the edge pieces” or finding “just the sky pieces” to placing each and every piece into the puzzle in its own time. Commit to enjoyment in your business in the same way — from choosing your new logo to hiring your first assistant, to dealing with a computer crash — sounds Pollyanna-ish, but it’s really important to remind ourselves that we are truly blessed to be in business for ourselves and we do this not just for the end result, but for the fun of the game.

5. When it starts being anything but enjoyable, take a break — at the puzzle board or in your place of business. Get up and move around, do something else, shift your attention to another section of the puzzle or business, or just stop for a while. Have some tea, go for a walk, shift from the details of bookkeeping to the interactive world of calling a colleague or jumping on a mastermind call. Always keep it fresh. And speaking of breaks…

6. Take a time out every so often to reconnect with where you are heading. In the puzzle realm, it means looking at the picture on the box…in business, it means re-visiting your “why” as I mention in habit #1 – but also connect regularly with your goals as well as you “why” – I suggest doing so at least weekly – pull your mission statement out, pin it up on the wall, post it on your computer desktop. Close your eyes and imagine yourself at the business level you are aiming for right now. Do so until emotion wells up. If you use the EFT “tapping” technique that I teach, start tapping while reading that mission statement aloud!

7. “Manage your expectations and don’t quit.” This little gem of wisdom is courtesy of my business mentor & coach, Dr. Ben Lo. It’s great advice for business and for puzzles — if you think there won’t be glitches along the way, whether in puzzles or business, think again. You’ve got to just keep on keeping on. You’ll see as you go that the picture will begin to come into focus — the jigsaw puzzle picture and the picture of what you are shaping in your business.

Bonus tip: Know that when you are “complete”, it won’t be long before you want to do a new puzzle…know that it is the process (of building a puzzle OR a business) that delights you. When you get to a desired level in your business, soon a new desire will be born — a new product to create, a new tagline that emerges, or a new book to write. There are always more puzzles to do and you never get them all done.

—

Now I know, some of you are possibly saying, “Yes, it’s a cute analogy, Erica, but this enjoyment thing, and trusting the process are only applicable to jigsaw puzzles — because there you know all the pieces are in the puzzle box — the manufacturer put them there. I don’t know that all the pieces are there when it comes to my business. In fact some of them are glaringly missing…I don’t know how to make a Youtube video for instance.”

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I am a joyful student of the teachings of Abraham-Hicks and their Law of Attraction material…so it won’t surprise you when I say, “Yes, and YOU contain all the pieces of your picture of a successful and prosperous business that you could ever possibly imagine…your “manufacturer” put them there right from the get go…it is your job to FEEL this and ALLOW it. Even if you don’t know exactly how to make a Youtube video or design a subscription site, you are creative, resourceful and very much whole. And you do have what it takes to find someone who does know how to do that thing you don’t know how to do, or to learn to do it yourself, or to get the need met in another creative way. Yes, you do have all the pieces you need.”

You’re ready to make an investment in yourself that will forever change your life – you’re ready to hire a great Wellness Coach. With a simple plan, you can do so in 3 simple steps:

I. Get Clear

II. Get Answers

III. Get going

I. Get Clear!

What you put into your personal Wellness Coaching journey will determine what you get out of it. The journey begins with you getting clear about what’s important to you and what you want in a great Wellness Coach.

• Take the time to answer these 10 questions:

1. Why I am hiring a Wellness Coach?

2. What is/are my wellness goal(s) and what do I hope to accomplish?

3. Am I willing to be coached? What does this mean to me?

4. What kind of support am I looking for?

5. What style of coaching works best for me?

6. What doesn’t work well for me?

7. What area(s) of specialty do I want my Wellness Coach to have?

8. What am I willing to pay for this service?

9. Do I want coaching: Weekly? Bi-monthly? By phone? In person?

10. How would I describe my ideal Wellness Coach?

Highlight any question(s) you have trouble answering and ponder it/them for 24 hours. Revisit the question(s) and see what comes forward.

Seem like a lot of work up front? Yes and no. You are taking a big step forward in your wellness and want to lead the project by starting off in the direction that is important to you…not just any direction. Time spent now will help assure your success.

II. Get Answers!

You’ll be collaborating with a Wellness Coach to support you in getting to your desired outcome and want to be sure it’s the right arrangement. To do so, you’ll need to do a bit of research.

Between searches on the internet and referrals from friends or health practitioners, narrow your search down to three Wellness Coaches. Study their websites or brochures and then conduct exploratory conversations with each of them. You’ll want to do this in addition to engaging in a free sample coaching session that each of the three Wellness Coaches may offer. During this “study, conversation, and sample” time, gather answers to any or all of these questions:

Part 1: Questions to Help you Select a Wellness Coach

Wellness Philosophy and Commitment to Wellness

• What is your philosophy about Wellness and Wellness Coaching?

• Who are your mentors?

• Do you have your own Wellness Coach?

• How do you demonstrate your own commitment to wellness?

• What wellness goals have you worked on in your own life?

Scope of Practice

• What is the range of your services?

• Do you sell supplements?

• If so, do you sell only one line of products or represent a network marketing company?

• What is your specialty or area of expertise?

• Do you teach classes? Teleclasses? Seminars? Lead retreats?

Training/Experience/Education

• Where and when were you trained/educated?

• How long have you been in business?

• What experience do you have as a wellness coach?

• What continued education classes do you take ?

•What did you do prior to being a Wellness Coach?

•What seminars have you attended lately? What did you learn?

• What associations do you belong to? Member? Board?

• What training, certification, and/or licenses do you have?

• What other personal-development work do you do for your own growth and transformation?

• What’s your diversity mix for types of clients and client issues you work with?

• How often do you wok with people who have similar wellness goals to mine? Can you give me referrals?

• What is your track record…Would those with wellness goals similar to mine, whom you have coached, say they have been successful?

• What’s your reputation as a wellness coach ?

About Your Practice

• Do you offer sample coaching sessions?

• How do you choose your clients?

• Are you taking new clients?

• How soon could we start?

• Can I see you in-person? By phone?

• What is your email policy?

• Can I contact you between sessions? How?

• What are your rates?

• What forms of payment do you take?

Style

• How would you describe your coaching style?

• How would/will you handle it if we were to hit any “rocky” roads or junctures in our relationship?

• Are you willing to “live out loud” with me and name it when things are difficult so we can work through to the other side?

• What do you like most about what you do?

Confidence

• Why should I hire you?

• What is your strong suit as a Wellness Coach?

• What client successes have made you most proud?

• How do you feel you would fit as a Wellness Coach for me?

• What referral do you have for me if we are not the right fit?

• What hesitancy do you have about working with me?

• What do you consider to be your best asset(s) as a coach?

• Do you have the ability to inspire and motivate others?

Part 2: Questions to Ask Yourself

After your study, conversation, and sample session with each of the three Wellness Coaches, ask yourself:

• Did this person demonstrate that s/he:

- is a strong communicator and listened well?

- is a knowledgeable and skilled Wellness Coach?

- is appropriately trained, certified, licensed and/or experienced?

- is inspirational, motivating, and positive to the degree I need/want?

- has strong integrity and a strong value system?

- runs a business of high standards without any evidence of bad faith?

- is focused and organized?

- is passionate about wellness?

- shares a vision for wellness that matches my vision?

- is on the same page I’m on regarding my wellness vision?

- is the right person for me to work with at this time?

III. Get Going!

Selecting and then hiring the Wellness Coach who fits best can make all the difference in your success. By this point, you have all the “data” you need to make an informed choice. Now trust your instincts, select your Wellness Coach, and make that first appointment! Ready,Go!

To Your Wellth,

P.S. We are well-connected in the Wellness Coach community. We provide business coaching to some of the most brilliant Wellness Coaches in the industry and would be happy to refer you to several for you to interview.

Send an email to us at: info (at) wellnesscoach (dot) com

Include your name, location, contact info with phone number and any details about the type of Wellness Coach you’d like to meet.

“Are you interested in your own success or committed to it?”– John Assaraf

When you’re interested in your own success, you dream a lot, wish a lot, hope a lot and focus on the roadblocks in your way. Thinking you’ll achieve success “someday”, you don’t even see that you’re the one actually putting up those roadblocks.

When you are committed to your success, you see clearly that the roadblocks are of your own making. You breathe, simply notice what you are doing and, in that moment of witnessing, you activate what author Rick Carson calls The Zen Theory of Change in Taming Your Gremlin:

“I imprison myself not by trying to be free, but by simply noticing how I am imprisoning myself in the very moment I am imprisoning myself.”

Get Wise to Your Roadblock Habits

Being clear about and getting wise to the top 5 ways you block success is important. When you stop and notice specifically what you’re doing, and that Zen Theory of Change starts shifting things, you can further the process by stepping in to remedy the situation. Here are the top ways you block success and the remedies for removing them:

Top 5 Self-Imposed Blocks to Success:

1. Acting from current reality. This is especially true for wellness coaches who want a full practice but are focused on how their practices aren’t full. They make marketing efforts in a state of panic and scarcity, working like crazy to “get more clients.”

Remedy: It is of great value for you to give your conscious attention to what you specifically want and summon the feelings of what you want, in the here and now, otherwise you can be swept up by the influence of that which surrounds you. (This is not appropriate however in the case of an acute physical problem that requires immediate medical attention.)

For the desired state of a thriving business or full coaching practice, or anything else, start from the inside out. Immerse yourself in the feelings of the desired state right now. This means summoning up the feeling of how it will be when the practice is already full so that you then can act from a state of ease and grace when you do take action.

Take 5 short minutes before you fall asleep at night to imagine this desired state as if it already exists. Do so until you can actually feel the peace, joy, calm, exhilaration (or whatever feelings and sensations you imagine that desired state will evoke for you) right then as you are lying there. Over time, this state will become more familiar and replace the feelings of scarcity. Acting from the feelings of the desired state already existing is what creates results. Guaranteed.

2. Using irresponsible semantics. When you habitually say: “I can’t…”, “I never…” “I don’t have enough time for…” and repeat these statements as if they are the “truth”, you’re hypnotizing yourself into believing what you say. 99% of the time, unless there is an actual physical obstruction or limitation, these are not “true” statements.

Remedy: Develop the habit of using responsible semantics this month and empower yourself in the process. Adopt just one of the following statements and put it into practice for the next 28 days: Say “I choose not to…” instead of “I can’t”. Say “Until now, I never____and now I am willing to___”; or say “Until now, I’ve not made the time for…” Watch what happens.

3. Acting like The Lone Ranger. Somewhere along the way, you might have adopted the attitude that you would “tough it out” or “go it alone” to prove that you could: 1) get it done the way you want it done if you do it yourself; or 2) do it faster if you do it alone, or maybe 3) show the world you’re capable and competent if you do it yourself. It really doesn’t matter why you went this route or what’s behind your habit of acting in a vacuum. What does matter is that you realize that successful people use a team.

Remedy: Call on all members of your team and lean into them. Your “asking for help” muscles may be a bit atrophied, so it’s time to put them to work. Start with the team you already have…and you do have a team. You just may not see it that way. Your children, your spouse, your partner or friend, your bookkeeper, your business coach, your CPA, your on-line Twitter or FB community…that is what your team looks like right now. So put those little-used muscles to work and delegate or ask for something from someone on your current team in the next 24 hours. Go! (You can make a conscious choice to expand your team soon enough.)

4. Relying solely on logic & ignore your intuition.

We are multi-dimensional and multi-layered beings. We are gifted with brains and neurology we haven’t even begun to tap or appreciate. In this culture, we have learned to revere and rely on our logic and left-brain strength. Generally, we have let our intuition and right-brain muscles get lazy. The power of intuition and your right-brain gifts are amazing resources that you may well be neglecting.

Remedy: Build your Intuition Muscles. Suspend judgment and doubt for 10 minutes. Get 2 fresh sheets of paper and a pen. Claim quiet time and shut off the ringer on your phone, the computer and any alarms. You are going to get information from something that is inanimate.

Choose a business question you want answered right now by someone very wise. Be specific. Write the question down on one of those sheets of paper and set it aside. (example question: “What do you I need to do or know to forward my business this year?”) Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Imagine your business itself has a voice. You are going to animate your business. You are going to write as if the voice of the business is responding to that question.

Now when I say, “go”, begin writing as if the business itself were answering that question and don’t lift your pen from the page for a solid 10 minutes. (Example of how a business might answer that question: “You’re doing extremely well. I’m happy with how you’ve managed me and grown me. I want you to create more information products to fatten my bottom line now so we can do even more great work in the world.”) Got the idea? Ok, ready? Go!

Don’t believe me that this technique works? I wrote an entire book this way and have grown a thriving business doing the same:) Try it now! You’ll be strengthening your intuition muscles!

When Dan first said this to me, some 23 years ago, I soaked it in like a sponge. It’s my “go to” quote when I find myself tied up in knots and not moving forward because I’m worrying about opinions. Remembering this quote works like magic. If I catch myself worshipping opinions, I take a deep breath, recall the quote, and march forward. Now it’s your turn. Write down Dan’s quote. Put it on a yellow-sticky by your computer or mirror, get a tattoo, or if you have an iphone 4S, ask Seri to remind you of the quote throughout the day. Whatever works to remind you to tune in to your heart and tune-out the noise of opinions.

—–

Remove Those Roadblocks Now

It’s your time — time to shift from being interested in your success to being committed to your success however you define it. It’s time to get out of your own way, remove the roadblocks you’ve created and come to life more fully. We’re all eager for you to do so!

To Your Wellth,

Are there other “self-imposed roadblocks” you’ve become aware of lately? Please share in a comment below. We’d love to hear.

Whether you’re building a new Wellness Coaching business this year, leading one that’s established, or restructuring and re-energizing a Wellness Coaching business that’s undergoing a makeover, the resources shown here are a must-have.

By “resources”, I truly mean “sources of help.” That said, you are going to have to expend energy to obtain or create each of the “sources of help” that I’ll mention. I won’t share anything with you I haven’t put into place myself. I have each of the 10 resources below in place for my own business. Yup, it took solid effort…AND the rewards are plenty. I invite you to put them into place in your own business.

Use the following list as a way to assess the resources you already have and to determine what else you need to put into place. In each category, I’ll open my contact files to you and let you know: the professionals that I whole-heartedly recommend; which resource to purchase, and/or; where to look to find out more.

Top 10 Business Resources Every Wellness Coach Must Have

10. An Inspiring Mastermind Group – Weekly meetings with 4-6 professionals whom you respect is key to keeping connected, achieving goals, avoiding isolation, and expanding your thought-processes and ideas. Join an existing mastermind group or form one yourself and include those you admire. Meet with those who will help you stay accountable to your goals and true to your authentic nature. [If you want help forming a mastermind group, let me know in the comment section below this post.]

9. A Great CPA - You must have a CPA who has experience with entrepreneurs, all types of corporate structures / business entities and who can help you reduce your largest expense, taxes. You don’t just want to hire your uncle Joe who says he knows how to fill out tax forms. It’s important you develop a list of questions for the professionals you interview and perform rigorous due diligence. [You can learn about CPA Warren Taryle’s outstanding company, Taryle & Associates, by clicking here.]

8. A Savvy Bookkeeper – Let’s hope your receipts aren’t filed in the recesses of your wallet or purse and that you own up-to-date small business software such as Quickbooks. Even so, hiring a bookkeeper will be one of the smartest additions you will make to your team. Doing so will save you hours of work and free you up from number input and allow you to put your energy into Wellness Coaching. Did you know you can successfully use a bookkeeper remotely & even outside of your state? Yup! Again, do your due diligence, ask for references, check that they work with entrepreneurs and have a solid track record. [You can learn about bookkeeper Mary James’s stellar company, Mary James Bookkeeping Group, by clicking here.]

7. An On-Line & Social Media Strategy to Grow Your Brand - Let’s be honest. The on-line and social media world can be a bit overwhelming. You know you need to develop your on-line “authority” and strengthen your on-line visibility, but without a plan your start-and-stop efforts can be ineffectual and a waste of time. A successful strategy or plan is one that fits you and your style and one that you will follow. Consistently. A solid strategy will help you focus and be a resource for you to turn to in the midst of internet and social media overwhelm. Do some research. Find someone to help you create a system and strategy that fits you. [Learn about internet guru Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger course by clicking here.]

6. A Proven Business Coach - I could write an entire post about the Top 10 Results You Can Achieve When Using a Business Coach, but I’ll save that for another time. Suffice it to say that to this day I have my own Business Coach — we meet regularly to keep WellnessCoach.com and me heading toward and on-track with the goal achievement that is important to me. I also hired a Business Coach when I was a Wellness Coach, and I can tell you first-hand how great that was. Having someone who wants the best for you, is willing to fiercely hold the space for you to achieve the business results that matter, and who knows the entrepreneurial territory from the inside out is crucial to entrepreneurial success. Are there many Business Coaches out there? Sure. Some who understand the Wellness Coaching arena? Yup. Do your homework. Identify the top qualities you want in your Business Coach. Make sure they are a good fit for you. Interview several. [Yes, I’d be glad to answer your inquiries. I’ll say no more here...]

5. A Well-Performing Website/Blog­ – Is a website and/or blog a resource? Absolutely! It’s your conduit for communicating with your tribe. It’s not enough to have an aesthetically pleasing website or blog…and gone are the days of sites being solely on-line brochures. Your site needs to do work for you. In fact, it’s more important that it functions well than looks “perfect”. Entire posts and sites are dedicated to web & blog development and keys to good performance. Be sure you do the right amount of research but don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. Get into action here. Be sure your site gets put up, provides useful content and captures visitor information. If yours is still in the brochure category, or non-existent altogether, get busy and hire a pro to design and get a solid site up for you. Gotta do more due diligence? Yes. Get referrals, work within your budget, and be sure who you hire is a good fit for you…the person who creates your site needs to understand you and your business. [You can learn about Julie Hood’s rock star web and blog business, YourBlogTeam.com, by clicking here.]

4. The Best Entity for YOUR Business – Let’s face it. One of the most important decisions you ever made was to go into business for yourself and start to build a successful Wellness Coaching Business. Isn’t it just as important to protect what you are building? Having several entrepreneurial businesses, I can absolutely say “yes!” Being sure that this is the right time for you to establish an entity and deciding whether to form an LLC, S corporation, or C corporation is critical. You need to rely on an entity specialist who is a seasoned professional. Get referrals. Do your homework. Have a consultation to get a professional opinion about what’s right for your business. You can sign up for a free 30-minute consultation, join the teleseminar series, and learn about the proven track record of CEOs Cheri Hill‘s top-notch entity-formation business, Sage International, by clicking here.

3. The Right Insurance – Your insurance needs are unique to you. Be sure getting the right coverage isn’t a task you put in the “someday” category. Take action now. It might be that you’ll never actually know how much of a resource insurance will be…I hope this for you. Check with the providers of your homeowner’s insurance (or providers of other types of insurance you have) to see if it’s appropriate for you to obtain, (and see if they offer) an umbrella policy, Errors & Omissions coverage, and/or Business Liability coverage. [You can also look into the various coverage packages offered to members of IDEA Health & Fitness Association. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) also offers insurance to its members. Check with them to see if becoming a member and getting their 3rd-party coverage is appropriate for you.] Depending on your training, and/or your prior or current education or license, you might also want to consult an attorney to see what is needed in your circumstances.

2. A Solid Revenue Model­ ­– Revenue models are a part of every entrepreneur’s successful business toolkit. Once put together, a yearly revenue model for your Wellness Coaching business will be a great resource for keeping yourself on track to reach your own levels of business success. A well designed revenue model will include: the revenue you are targeting to generate this year; prices for your various products and services; estimated expenses, and; how many of the specific products, group programs and individual services you will need to offer to meet that revenue goal. Looked at monthly, the revenue model will help you see what course correction you need to make to meet your revenue goals. [Be sure to use your key business resource (#6 above...your Business Coach) to help you put your revenue model together.]

1. A Clear Vision, Mission & Marketing Plan – This is Business 101 and a great “course” to put yourself through whether you are starting or re-launching your Wellness Coaching Business. It occupies the #1 spot because there is no more powerful motivator to an entrepreneur than keeping his or her eye on the vision and mission of their business. Used as a resource, doing so repeatedly and consistently is invaluable. Well-crafted, these three components will remind you why you do what you do, what you are committed to, and how you will get the word out about what you do. Enlist the help and support of your Mastermind Group and your Business Coach as you create, sharpen, or polish this business resource. [Also use Loral Langemeir’s 4-CD set, Building, Leading & Protecting Your Business, to guide you in your work on this.]

—Got additional resources in mind that you think other Wellness Coaches need to put in place? Let members of the community know in the comment section below.

Well, what I don’t mean is to say “yes” to just anything and everything. What I do mean is to practice discernment and consistency when it comes to saying “yes” – discernment when it comes to knowing what is ours to say “yes” to and consistency in doing what we tell ourselves and others (including our businesses) that we’ll do.

So, this month, consider saying “yes” to doubling or tripling your marketing efforts if this has meaning for you. Consider saying “yes” to approaching a colleague about a Joint Venture project if that appeals. Consider saying “yes” to bigger opportunities, even if you are not quite sure how you’ll pull them off.

Yes, you may not know how you’ll set that Joint Venture up, or how you’ll hire an assistant right now, but, as Loral encourages her clients and readers, and as I’ve done many times in my own business and life, the idea is to say “yes” to what is ours to do, and then figure out the how.

I want to emphasize the practice of saying yes to what is yours to do…not what is someone else’s to do. And in your hearty “yes”, you know the difference.

We can scare ourselves by thinking that we need to push ourselves to say “yes” to huge goals and actions that we’re not yet ready for. This is not the kind of “yes” I’m advocating.

If your business is doing $10,000 per month right now, saying “yes” to bringing in seven figures this year is probably not realistic and just saying that goal aloud will probably be enough to keep you frozen in non-action. Likewise, I’m also not advocating that you play a game that’s too small for you and under-commit by saying “yes” to only those things in your comfort zone.

Instead, what you’re after is saying “yes” to the things that are yours to do, that are the “right” size of big, one chunk at a time. In the case above, rather than shooting for seven figures when you’re barely over six, saying yes to doubling or tripling your marketing efforts, hiring an assistant, and getting a new product out the door could be a fabulous way to say a big hearty yes.

Then with these wins behind you, increase the size of the things you say “yes” to from there. The payoff from saying “yes” to what’s yours to do and sticking to what you say you will do consistently is enormous. This month, become an ambassador of saying THAT kind of “yes.

The following list highlights the key actions that will help you say a hearty yes to the adventure of your wellness coaching business, or other entrepreneurial adventure, this month. I’ve combined some of the actions listed in the 2012 Wellness Coaches Calendar with a few more to keep you going! So say “yes” as you:

2. Do some serious thinking, writing or talking with a business coach to identify the places you can: do more with less energy, delegate and/or say “no”

3.Say “yes” to offering specials for new clients this month.

4.Start, join or attend a business mastermind group. Challenge each other to say “yes” to new opportunities.

5.Get out there. Sure it’s important to jump into the social networks and form contact there. But get offline and start talking about what you know in the live world this month. As Startup Daddy said back in 2010 in his You Can’t Build an Arc When It’s Raining post, “Get into the social networks. Don’t try to game the system and pad your follower and friend count and just look good. Go out there and start meeting people and talk about what interests you.”

6. Attend networking functions & meetings and say “yes” to my challenge: Up your interaction level. Go for interacting with more than people you usually engage. Listen to the needs of and talk about your wellness coaching business solutions with double the number of people that you talk to when you stay in your comfort zone.

7.If the above challenge finds you stopping in your tracks and getting in your own way of moving forward, simply stop, breathe, notice what you are doing and choose to go forward. For more support, re-read Taming Your Gremlin® by Rick Carson. The bottom line here is that no amount of action alone is going to propel you into the “yes” territory if you haven’t embraced the “yes” attitude on the inside first.

8.Feb 21st – receive and start reading that Yes!Energy book! Encourage your mastermind group to do the same and support each other in implementing the actions.

9. Work with your business success coach this month to develop a stronger “say a hearty yes” mindset.

Tell us other ways you’ll say “yes” this month, or share your ideas for how we can all do so!

I’m excited to announce the new Free Monthly Q&A Call for Wellness Coaches. Beginning Wednesday, February 8, 2012, on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, I’ll be taking the business questions that are foremost on your mind. No two calls will be the same and you’ll be setting the agenda. Get answers to questions such as:

• How do I create added revenue streams & not just trade time for money?

• When is it time to establish a business entity? Should I incorporate?

I’ll bet that at the moment this photo was taken the rider shown here had hundreds of email messages in her in-box, a To Do list a mile long, and a blog post she thought she’d like to get out on January 1st that she hadn’t even started to write yet. In short, like you and me, she always has many things vying for her attention at any one point in time. But at this moment, her focus is 100% on the event in this arena.

As my friend, colleague, and Exceptional Horsemanship owner Lauren Woodard explained to me, the rider put all her attention on this jump, lined everything up and then turned it over to the horse so he could do his job and get them over the fence and land. As he’s doing so, she’s now focused on the next fence they’ll have to jump. Those email messages are nowhere on her radar right now. The rider (along with her horse) is demonstrating what I call the “Do Less” Attitude.

In my book,Seven Sacred Attitudes, I explain that the “Do Less Attitude” is founded upon the Chinese Law of Least Action.

This Law advises us to Do Less of the unimportant stuff. To Do Less of the unnecessary. To do only those things that have the greatest leverage for us-just as the wise ancient butcher did in China when he dismembered an entire ox with just four simple cuts of his knife.

So, can doing Less teach us to come to our entrepreneurial businesses More fully?

You bet.

The Do Less Attitude has to do with focus. It does not have to do with being lazy, letting important things slide through the cracks, or abdicating responsibility.

As an entrepreneurial business owner, you already know that you come to your Wellness Coaching business more fully when you have a clear and focused vision of where you are heading, know which activities are closest to your bottom line and delegate or dismiss the tasks that are not the best use of your time. This is the Do Less Attitude in action.

If you’re a Wellness Coach who works for someone else, the same idea applies. Doing more high-leverage tasks is the best use of your valuable time and energy.

You will come to work and life more fully when you adopt the Do Less Attitude, because there will be more of YOU (your energy, passion, creativity) available. You will be, as author Chin-ning Chu writes in her book, Do Less, Achieve More, “…elevated from the ordinary agitated state of consciousness into an extraordinary level where desired objectives and results unfold with an uncommon ease of effort, thus positively effecting our practical day-to-day performance in all arenas of life.”

These days, when we are bombarded by new information arriving every minute and everything seems to be urgent and in need of our attention, it can be easy to get distracted. But distraction is not a requirement.

The keys to focusing and the Do Less Attitude are:

First, identify what’s important (To do so: Hire a business coach, work with a friend or colleague, or take some time to yourself one weekend.) This means getting clear about which activities in your work environment are closest to your bottom line. The best tool I know for selecting priorities and dismissing the unnecessary is to ask myself: “Is this mine to do?”

Identify the activities that you can delegate or dismiss.

Ask yourself: What price have I been paying for trying to do everything and/or multi-tasking?

Ask yourself: How important is it for me to be relaxed, productive & clear-minded in my business and life?

Commit (preferably to someone else who is interested in your well-being) to saying No to those items that are not worth your precious energy.

Commit (also to someone who wants the best for you) to saying Yes to those items that have the biggest payoff to you (however you define this.)

Keep it simple. Cut out a few things at a time. Once you get the hang of this and make it a habit, the Do Less Attitude will become a new way of life…a new daily practice.

The question is: When would NOW be a good time to identify those high-leverage activities?

Focusing Experiments

Try this: Sharpen your focusing skills. Experiment with one or more of the following activities and get into the habit of focusing.

1. The Color Game:

When I was a child, my dad often took me to Candlestick Park during the summer to see the San Francisco Giants’ play baseball at the stadium that was then their home turf. I remember sitting in the bleachers, hotdog in hand, looking around in amazement. But I wasn’t amazed at the action on the baseball field.

What I saw in the stands was much more fascinating to me. The stands were the setting for the Color Game.

I would close my eyes, think of a color, and then look around the entire stadium and see just how much of that color was present. I’d say, “Dad, look how much blue there is! There are millions of blue shirts and hats.”

Between cheers my dad would say, “What blue shirts? There are thousands of different colors out there.”

I knew the secret though. He wasn’t focusing. I saw an entire sea of blue.

Not much later I would choose another color and open my eyes and see all the shirts in yellow, or red, or green. This kept me occupied for all nine innings and sometimes into the extra innings. I still play that game today. When I’m at crowded venues, or waiting on line, I will often look around and simply notice a particular color. Doing so keeps my focus sharp.

So when I am back in the office, and a dozen e-mail messages scream my name, a thousand distractions cross my mind and I must keep focused on the article I’m writing, I’m glad I practiced earlier with the Color Game.

2. The Selective Focus Video

Professor Daniel J. Simons conducted research roughly 13 years ago and produced an awesome video on the power of selective attention. There’s more to the research study now, and a great book to explain more. But if you haven’t seen the video, go check it out first. Do the exercise. You’ll be amazed:

Hundreds of you have downloaded the Free Toolkit! Many of you have sent email notes of thanks. You are so very welcome! Thank YOU for taking the time to write. I’m truly jazzed you appreciate the kit. And, you know me…I’m always looking for ways to add to it. So…

Now, I’m after specificity. I’d love to hear the details:

- Are you using the Calendar’s action steps to plan your year?

- What business changes did you make after taking the Success Quiz?

- Anything else you’d like added to the calendar itself or included in the whole toolkit?

Pursuant to California Senate Bill SB577:
Contributors to and operators of the WellnessCoach.com site do not claim to practice medicine, prescribe for or diagnose disease; do not hold out, state, indicate, advertise or imply that he/she are licensed physicians. The materials and content contained in this blog are for general education only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Users of this blog should not rely exclusively on information provided in this website for their own health needs. All specific medical questions should be presented to your own health care provider.